Letting things slip

A woman whose property suffered a landslide three years ago is still waiting for the IW Council and Southern Water to deal with the damage.

Rosemary Luck, of The Mount, Yarmouth, claims the main drain leading into the town could collapse due to a large hole under the road. In her latest email to IW Council, the former lawyer says: “It is now three years since the main drain failed under the road adjacent to my property, causing a landslide and creating a large hole under the road. All of this exited into my property.

“This hole, together with the broken pavement which has subsided, is a public hazard. Pedestrians could easily fall and be seriously injured, and the road could collapse.

“In addition, considerable damage has been done to my garden; the huge quantity of soil which came down from under the road and from the bank supporting the road has largely cut off the bottom of the garden from the rest of the property.

“Furthermore, there is a large tree in imminent danger of uprooting which will cause further damage by destabilizing the area and is generally hazardous.

“Last year, you encouraged me to issue a letter before action to Southern Water, whom you think is responsible, but who deny liability on the basis that the road was not properly constructed and/or maintained.

“You have informed me that Island Roads cannot carry out repairs until Southern Water have completed their work and, in any event, the Council don’t have the money anyway.

“I believe the Isle of Wight Council has a statutory duty to maintain the highway including pavements under the Highways Act. Whilst the Council may appoint subcontractors, the liability to maintain remains the Council’s and consequently the Council is in breach of its statutory obligations.”

She has now taken preliminary advice from solicitors and added: “It’s not acceptable. I have been left waiting and nothing has happened.

“I contacted a local gardening company to sort out the damage to my garden and was told not to touch it, because that could cause a collapse of the road! It’s gone beyond a joke.”

A representative from Southern Water confirmed they had investigated the issue and added: “We found no fault with any of our assets and this, as I understand it, is something the IW Council is dealing with.”

An IW Council spokesman said: “We are equally as concerned as residents at The Mount, Yarmouth regarding drainage issues and have been seeking a resolution. The solution is complicated by matters relating to land ownership and the need for multi-agency involvement.

“The council has requested the relevant parties to come together and fix the problems as a matter of urgency.”